


Light In The Darkness

by featherlight221b



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Growing Up, High School, Junior High, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 10:11:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16595888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/featherlight221b/pseuds/featherlight221b
Summary: This world is awful, was the conclusion that Light came to at the age of fourteen. The mere idea that the universe he happened to live in was actually much worse than he used to believe appeared in his mind for the first time a few years back, perhaps when he was ten or eleven. It started with something as simple as noticing that people were flawed. That they were plain, narrow-minded and too focused on themselves. It gave birth to quite bitter feelings inside Light, but that was it. Until he had realized other things about people. They were selfish. They were cruel. They were hypocrites, oblivious to their own wrongdoings. And on top of all that, most of them were just stupid.Or: Light hates everyone, and then he meets L.(Also, I'm sorry for making the title a pun).





	Light In The Darkness

_This world is awful,_ was the conclusion that Light came to at the age of fourteen. The mere idea that the universe he happened to live in was actually much worse than he used to believe appeared in his mind for the first time a few years back, perhaps when he was ten or eleven. It started with something as simple as noticing that people were flawed. That they were plain, narrow-minded and too focused on themselves. It gave birth to quite bitter feelings inside Light, but that was it. Until he had realized other things about people. They were selfish. They were cruel. They were hypocrites, oblivious to their own wrongdoings. And on top of all that, most of them were just stupid. And so, the bitter feelings he had harbored slowly turned into resentment and distaste for the mankind. Everywhere he looked, there was injustice, ignorance and human flaws surrounding him constantly. _This world is awful, and if that wasn’t enough, it’s also boring_. That was another conclusion he had come to. People his age were simple-minded. Unobservant, impulsive, naïve, and oh so easily deceived. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so tiring.

There were few people Light didn’t look down on, and they were the few people who kept him from going insane. Because they gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, there were still reasonable human beings living in this corrupted society as well.

First there were his parents. Smart, kind people with a strong sense of justice. Probably too good to live in this awful place. Light especially respected his father, who worked everyday to make decent people feel safe, to make this world better, to punish those who had turned the reality into the mess it was now. Who kept disturbing any kind of order.

Then there was his little sister, Sayu. The very epitome of innocence. Like the others, she was blissfully ignorant to all the bad happening all over the world, but at least she wasn’t causing it in any way. No, she was a person with pure heart and good intentions, who happened to be dumbly positive and optimistic. Too hopeful for her own good. But she wasn’t doing anything wrong.

Another person Light supposed he didn’t mind was Takada Kiyomi, a girl from his class. He wouldn’t exactly call her a _friend_ , but… a good acquaintance, perhaps. She was smart. Not half as intelligent as he was, but still, more that most of their peers. He could have a somewhat entertaining conversation with her, and hanging out with the girl wasn’t as mentally exhausting as spending time with other people usually was. Therefore, in school he would mostly stick with her, as her company was less unpleasant that the rest of their classmates’. But even while he had an acquaintance like Takada, the world wasn’t changing. Predictable, boring days kept passing and nothing was better.

It was one of those mundane days when Light would appear in class exactly ten minutes before the bell rang, and prepare mentally for a long day of faking smiles, being polite despite his own will and pretending to like the people who went to the same junior high as him. He gave Takada a curt nod as she took the seat next to his, and then cheerily greeted some student whom he didn’t really care for. He sat through class staring out of the window, but still being able to answer correctly when the teacher asked him about the topic of today’s lesson. It wasn’t until lunch when he noticed that something was different.

As much as his classmates didn’t matter to him, he still remembered their faces and names. But now, he was quite certain that the person he saw sitting a few desks away was someone he had never seen before. A new student? Even so, he didn’t seem to be particularly interesting. Quite the opposite, actually. The stranger was sitting on his chair in a weird way, his skin was unhealthily pale, his hair was incredibly messy, there were bags under his eyes, he was wearing clothes that were too big for him and he didn’t seem to be making any attempt to talk to anyone. A freak, probably. Light frowned with slight disgust, but quickly faked curiosity as he remembered that he was in public.

“Takada-san, do you know who that new kid is?” he asked.

The girl followed his gaze.

“Oh. That’s L Lawliet. Weren’t you listening? He’s a transfer student from England,” she said.

“Ah, I couldn’t focus today, my bad,” Light explained, shooting her an apologetic smile.

_L Lawliet… what a strange name_ , he thought. Who on earth named their kid after a damn letter? A slight smirk crept onto his face as he tried to withhold a snort. Well, at least the new kid’s presence provided a short moment of entertainment and for that, Light was grateful.

“ – huh, Yagami? Hey, Yagami! Are you listening?”

Light turned his gaze to where the voice was coming from. Nakamura, one of the guys who seemed to be under the impression that Light was their friend. No one worth noticing, to be honest.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Shiro and I are going to the movies after school and we were wondering if you’d like to tag along,” said Nakamura.

Right. Because there surely weren’t more productive ways to spend his free time than wasting it on watching extremely predictable drama with two loud people who’d be surprised by every plot twist.

“I’d love to – “

A lie.

“ – but I’ve promised Sayu that I’d help her with homework today, so I can’t.”

A lie.

“Oh. That’s too bad, man,” said Nakamura.

“Yeah. Another time.”

A lie.

It was a strange rule of getting along with people. If you wanted them to like you, you had to lie to them. If you became what they wanted you to be, they were willing to believe it.

And so, yet another day had passed, with nothing much to save Light from boredom. After school, he headed straight home, overhearing news about a murder in the neighborhood. _Soon_ , he thought, _soon enough, only several years, since I’m bright enough, I’ll work with the police and I’ll help cleanse this world._ Head filled with those thoughts, he felt slightly better as he reached for the doorknob and then entered the Yagami family house.

“I’m home!” he called out, closing the door behind him.

He could hear footsteps, and a few seconds later, Sayu was running down the stars and then in his direction, before pulling him into a tight hug that he awkwardly returned.

“Hi,” he said.

“Nii-san!” Sayu grinned at him cheerfully, then pulled away completely. “How was your day?”

“It was fine,” Light shrugged, then headed in the direction of his bedroom.

Sayu called after him.

“Did anything fun happen?”

“Not really. But what do you expect, it’s school,” Light replied.

Not long after that, Light was finishing his homework, eating dinner, and then getting ready to sleep, as there wasn’t any important reason to stay awake.

* * *

 

Light discovered that the transfer student from England, L Lawliet, annoyed him. Honestly, there were so many things about that guy that were just unnerving. The way he sat was irksome. His strange habit of eating sweets during every lesson was simply annoying and obnoxious. Him staring at people was making everyone uncomfortable. So you couldn’t really blame Light for being a bit, ahem, less than fond of the other boy.

“Excuse me,” Light spoke as he approached Lawliet during the break.

The pale boy turned to stare at him with those creepy huge black eyes of his.

“You were eating cookies really loudly in class,” Light continued. “It made it difficult for me to focus on what the teacher was saying.”

It didn’t, really. He was rarely paying any attention in class to tell the truth. But it didn’t make the loud cookie-eating any less irritating.

“If Yagami-kun is having a problem focusing in class, perhaps he should try stop staring out of the window while lost in thought and instead actually listen to what the teacher is saying,” L Lawliet commented.

Huh. Light didn’t take him for the observant type. Neither was he exactly pleased that L had a point.

“I don’t believe me staring out of the window is any of your business,” he frowned. “Just be aware that your actions are obnoxious.”

“I will be. Thank you for this information, Yagami-kun,” said the other with a blank expression.

Light wasn’t sure if he was being serious or just mocking him. Either way, this reaction annoyed him.

He turned around and walked away, hoping that thanks to his intervention, L Lawliet would start paying more attention to his own behavior.

He didn’t.

* * *

 

“Yagami, we’re going to get some pizza, wanna join us?”

“Sorry, can’t. I have plans already.”

* * *

 

“Light, would you like to go to the movies this weekend?”

“It’s really nice of you to ask, but unfortunately my grandmother is sick and I’m taking care of her this weekend.”

* * *

 

“Oi, do you have time to – “

“I’m walking Takada-san home today, perhaps another time.”

* * *

 

“Yagami-kun seems to lie a lot.”

Light flinched slightly at the sound of the voice. It was a lunch break and he was sitting under a tall tree outside the school, reading a book, when someone apparently thought that it would be a good idea to approach him and disturb his peace with voicing accusations of some sort.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, looking up from his book at L, who was crouching down right next to him.

Did this guy know what personal space was?

“I’ve noticed that in his interactions with our classmates, Yagami-kun tends not to be truthful when he considers it inconvenient for him,” said the pale boy.

Was Lawliet a stalker or something? God, this was creepy. Light disliked people enough without having to deal with individuals like that.

“Why are you listening to my conversations with the others?” he asked, reasonably concerned.

“There’s not much to do in school except for listening to what my classmates talk about,” said L calmly.

“Well, haven’t anybody told you that eavesdropping is rude and that it’s invading someone’s privacy?” Light asked defensively.

L Lawliet tilted his head in confusion.

“But if I’m in the same room, it’s natural that I hear what the others are saying. Besides, if the matter is private, it shouldn’t be discussed in public,” he pointed out.

Funny. He was getting more and more annoying with every passing second.

“I’ve also noticed that Yagami-kun is not denying that he lies a lot,” Lawliet added.

He didn’t _lie a lot_. He’d prefer to call it acting. And so what if he did? Was L trying to tell him that it was wrong? Attempting to fit in, to become a part of the society, to get the others to like you instead of shoving your differences into their faces? There were much worse things that people did. Besides, lying didn’t _hurt_ people. Lying was simply letting them believe what they wanted to believe.

“I don’t lie _a lot_ , but it does happen to me. Everyone lies from time to time,” he replied slowly in a flat voice. “That is, unless you’re trying to tell me that you are always honest?”

L hesitated.

“Not… entirely honest, not all of the time. But I don’t lie,” he said.

“Is that so?” Light asked, certainly not convinced. “So what then, did you come here to tell me how wrong I am for not telling the truth from time to time?”

Because honestly, he didn’t need a weird kid from school giving him lectures.

“No,” Lawliet shook his head. “I was merely trying to start a conversation.”

Light could only stare at him, because _what the hell_. Who on earth started a conversation by pointing out the other’s wrongdoings? Or was that the pale boy’s poor attempt at offering helpful advice? Well, he sure needed to work on his social skills, there was no question about that.

“Does Yagami-kun perhaps have different conversation topics in mind?”

Was this guy serious? Suddenly Light felt that faking friendliness was perhaps too much of a bother sometimes. Surely giving himself a break wouldn’t hurt, right? But no, he had to keep up the façade. Which meant that he really should answer the pale boy’s question.

Thankfully, before he came up with something that would start a too long for his taste conversation, he heard someone calling out his name.

“Light! Here you are!”

He quickly turned to look in the direction where the voice was coming from and he had to admit that he was never happier to see Takada walking towards him. Her arrival meant distraction. And a distraction meant the opportunity to think of a believable enough excuse to get away from the freak.

“Hello, Takada-san,” Light greeted the girl with a grin.

She seemed both taken aback and happy to see a genuine emotion on his face.

“Hey,” she said, blushing, before her gaze turned to Lawliet. “Oh. I didn’t know you two hung out together.”

“We don’t,” said Light quickly.

L simply nodded in confirmation.

“Anyway, do you need anything?” Light asked, making sure that he didn’t sound hopeful.

“Yes, actually. I haven’t done my homework for today and I could use your help,” Takada said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

“Sure,” said Light, flashing a bright smile at her and getting up from where he was sitting on the ground.

Sometimes having acquaintances was useful.

* * *

 

Avoiding Lawliet turned out not to be hard. Light guessed that after all the other boy wasn’t a stalker. Well, that was good. He did his best to send the clear message that he didn’t want to have anything to do with L and it was better if they didn’t have to talk ever again. Then everyone would be happy and there wouldn’t be anyone to bother him.

And then their English teacher made a particularly difficult test and they both scored the maximum points. It was… a new feeling to Light, knowing that someone equaled him in something. He wasn’t yet sure if it was a good or a bad thing. A bit unnerving, especially that it was this freak, but also somewhat intriguing. It made Light start paying more attention to the pale boy.

He was smart. Not only did he get good grades but he was actually intelligent. He didn’t speak much, but when he did, it was usually something thoughtful and observant. Which was actually impressive, as much as Light didn’t want to admit it.

Lawliet also seemed good at sports, which was certainly unexpected. Which prompted Light to challenge him to a game of tennis.

“Let’s see who’s better, shall we?” he asked.

“If you wish so, Yagami-kun,” L simply replied.

“Great. If I win, I want you to admit that I’m the smarter one out of the two of us,” said Light.

Lawliet looked at him curiously.

“That’s a quite childish attitude, Yagami-kun,” he said.

Light huffed. As he opened his mouth to respond, L continued.

“But I agree to those terms. However, if I win, you’ll buy me a cake.”

Was L trying to get diabetes? Well, even so, Light didn’t particularly care.

“Deal.”

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you lost.”

Light turned to glare at Takada. Was she going to keep shoving it in his face? The tennis match was intense and he was surprised by just how skilled Lawliet was. It had been a long time since Light had last faced a tough rival like this. Still, he was certain he would win. And he was so close to succeeding. But it didn’t matter how close he was, what mattered was that he had _lost_.

“He was… much better than I expected. I shouldn’t have underestimated him,” Light let out a huff of frustration. “And I shouldn’t have made that deal with him…”

“What deal?” Takada asked curiously.

“I have to buy him cake now,” the boy rolled his eyes.

“Oh. It could have been worse.”

“I guess,” Light shrugged. “Well, it’s not the worst part. But I _will_ win with him the next time. I wasn’t prepared now but I certainly will be. I’ll make sure to defeat L Lawliet in any field I can.”

Wait, he probably said too much, didn’t he? He glanced at Takada, expecting her to look taken aback. She did, in fact, seem surprised. However, there was something else in her expression. She looked… glad, for some reason?

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s just nice to see you be so enthusiastic about something, I guess,” the girl said.

“Oh. Well, it’s because Lawliet annoys me,” Light told her.

“Maybe. I still don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing,” Takada stated.

“If you say so.”

* * *

 

When Light went to buy L the damn cake, the pale freak ended up tagging along as he was worried that Light wouldn’t choose the right kind of cake. Jeez, it was a dessert, not something of a huge importance… Well, he guessed he should look at it as an opportunity to find out more about his newfound rival. It was a chance to see how bright he actually was. Perhaps it would be good to start with something simple like riddles.

“Hey Lawliet, do you enjoy riddles?” Light asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” the boy confirmed. “However, I do not know many of those.”

Good.

“Well, do you know what hurts without moving, what poisons without touching, what bears both truths and lies, what is not to be judged by its size?” he asked.

He expected L to guess the answer correctly, but he was curious how much time would it take for him to figure it out.

It took about four seconds.

“Is the correct answer ‘words’, Yagami-kun?”

That was fast.

“It is,” said Light, displeased.

Lawliet nodded thoughtfully.

“However,” the pale boy said. “I must say that is a very negative description of words. They don’t only hold the power to hurt, but also to help. To be kind to others. To encourage them.”

…Was he trying to give some sort of uplifting pep talk?

“Well, I suppose so. Still, people mostly use words to their own advantage,” Light pointed out.

“They tend to,” Lawliet agree. “But not always. And sometimes it’s not a bad thing.”

“It usually is,” Light insisted.

L stared at him intently as they entered a bakery. His gaze was unwavering, calculating and somewhat unnerving. It made Light uncomfortable and generally pissed off as the other boy seemed to try to read his mind. What was his problem?

Eventually, L spoke up.

“I think I’ll go with the butterscotch cake today,” he said.

Right. They weren’t here to discuss the faults of this world.

“Oh. Sure. Is one slice okay with you?”

* * *

 

Light was flipping through a newspaper, until something finally caught his attention. The case he had read about half a month ago was solved. Well, it was about time. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he scanned through the text. Apparently, the killer killed five people who he had wanted revenge on. Every victim was stabbed to death, all left with fingerprints-free knives stuck in their hearts. All of the knives apparently looked the same.

“Now that’s just dumb. Were you trying to get caught?” Light muttered under his breath. “It doesn’t matter there were no fingerprints, it’s still giving the police a clue… And following the same pattern…Was that guy overconfident or an idiot?”

“It’s quite interesting how Yagami-kun gets annoyed not by the fact that someone killed people, but by how easy he made it to catch him,” a voice behind him commented.

Light flinched and turned his head to look at L, who was currently walking in his direction, barely a few feet away.

“Are you stalking me or something?” Light frowned.

“No. However, I happened to overhear Yagami-kun muttering to himself, and I find it something worth talking about,” L replied.

“Well, read the article for yourself, I’m sure you’ll notice just how many mistakes the killer made,” said Light, handing him the newspaper.

L started reading. Light leaned back against the wall by which he was currently sitting. He watched Lawliet’s face as the boy focused on the article. Through the whole thing, the pale freak kept frowning and furrowing his eyebrows.

“That was such a cruel thing to do of the killer,” he sighed after he finished reading.

“Obviously. A killer’s a killer, don’t expect him to have conscience,” Light scoffed.

“Some killers are still less brutal…” L pointed out.

“It doesn’t make a difference!” Light protested.

“It surely does to a victim,” the other said.

“That’s not even what we were supposed to discuss! Can we just agree on the fact that the killer was an idiot?”

L looked at him for a few seconds in complete silence.

“Of course,” he spoke eventually. “I’m certain that Yagami-kun wouldn’t get caught if he was the one doing the killing.”

Light narrowed his eyes.

“Are you mocking me?”

“No,” Lawliet shook his head. “I truly believe that you’d be a fully capable murderer.”

What was that even supposed to mean!? Well, of course Light _would_ be a better serial killer than the one from the news… but still, what kind of compliment even was that? First of all, it suggested that he would actually be able to kill someone. Which he was pretty sure wasn’t a good thing.

“To be a capable killer, I’d first have to be okay with actually killing people,” Light huffed. “And I’d never be.”

L shrugged.

“I can’t say for sure, since we don’t know each other very well yet, but I suspect that under some circumstances, you would kill.”

“What the hell?”

“Most people would, so don’t let it get to you too much, Yagami-kun.”

As if that was comforting. But Light wasn’t most people. No, he was actually a decent, just person who would always follow the law and who _deserved_ a place on Earth, unlike some creatures that he could hardly call human. Lawliet didn’t know what he was talking about.

Before he could say anything, another two people approached him. Their classmates, Shino and Shima.

“Hey, Yagami, wanna go to grab some pizza with us after school?” Shima asked.

Light tried to remember how many times he had declined offers from his classmates in the last two weeks. Ah, too many, probably. He _should_ agree to hang out with his classmates from time to time if he wanted them to keep liking him.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, putting on his best fake smile.

“Cool, it’s been a while since we went together somewhere,” Shima cheered up.

Shino, who wasn’t as outgoing and sociable as Shima, but was kinder and paid more attention to people, glanced at L.

“How about you, Lawliet? Would you like to tag along?” he asked politely.

Light tensed for a second, but then relaxed as he realized that there was no way that freak would agree to –

“Gladly. You’re very kind to invite me, Shino-kun,” L said.

What. Light was pretty sure that L Lawliet didn’t have friends. At least, he never saw him actually spending time with anyone. So why would he want to go with them?

Suddenly, Light started regretting not making up an excuse not to go.

The rest of the school day went by quickly. Too quickly, for his taste. Usually he looked forward to hear the last bell of the day, but today it was different. Because today, the sound didn’t mean that he was free to go home. Quite the opposite.

He pulled out his phone and texted Sayu.

_I’m going out with some of my classmates today. Don’t wait for me with dinner. If you have any trouble with homework, just ask Mom for help._

He put his phone back in his pocket, then went to catch up to Shima, Shino and Lawliet. He walked beside them, bored, half-listening to Shima and Shino’s meaningless conversation. Something about food. It was amazing in the most negative way how people were content with simply talking about trivial things like that and avoiding any serious matters.

“What about you, Yagami?” unfortunately, Shima decided to drag him into the conversation. “Do you prefer chocolate or strawberry cake?”

“I don’t really eat cake,” he replied, scratching the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly at them. “So I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”

“Eh?” Shima seemed taken aback.

“I prefer strawberry cake personally,” Lawliet chimed in.

As Shino smiled triumphantly, Shima shook his head.

“What’s wrong with you people? Chocolate is the best…” he muttered, then turned back to Light. “Still, you _do_ eat cake sometimes, don’t you?”

Light shrugged.

“Well, Takada-san enjoys eating cake, so I bought her a cake for her birthday and she was kind enough to let me have a slice. It was okay, but I much prefer other food,” he said.

Shima hummed thoughtfully, while Shino turned to him with curiosity.

“Takada-san?” he asked. “You two seem to be close, don’t you?”

“Ah, of course, she’s a good friend of mine!” said Light.

He ignored the slight raise of L’s eyebrow. Instead, he decided to humor his classmates for a bit and talk to them about Takada, and assure them that no, he did not have any romantic feelings for her even though she was pretty and smart. They didn’t seem very convinced though, so he felt relief when they finally reached the pizza place.

As the four of them sat by a table in the corner, his phone buzzed. He grabbed it and saw a message from Sayu.

_But Onii-chan!!! I have_ English _homework today! Mom’s not good with foreign languages!_

He let out an exasperated but fond sigh.

_Well, then I suppose that means you need to study harder. It’s not like I can just do your homework for you._

The reply came almost immediately.

_Meanie!_

Light snorted, then put his phone away. As he did that, he noticed Lawliet looking at him, intrigued.

“What?” he asked.

“Who were you texting?” L asked curiously.

“Oh, just Sayu,” Light said.

“Sayu?”

“His little sister,” Shino explained.

“Oh, that one!” said Shima. “She’s cute! If only she were our age – “

Light frowned.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Ah, nothing, nothing!”

Soon, they ordered a large Hawaiian pizza and some soft drinks. Good that at least Light got food out of agreeing to hang out. Also thankfully, they managed to settle into an easy conversation about what high school is going to be like.

“It’s gonna be so cool, man. Maybe this time I’ll get to be more popular!” Shima said.

As Light fought the urge to roll his eyes, L frowned in confusion.

“Why is that?” he asked. “Going to high school won’t make you smarter or more attractive in people’s eyes.”

Light snorted, while Shima looked offended.

“ _Dude_ ,” Shima whined. “Not cool.”

“Oh. Did I say something that offended you? I apologize, I was just trying to state the facts,” said Lawliet, seeming a bit lost.

Perhaps his presence wasn’t that bad. He had to admit, it was amusing.

“Ah, Shima-kun, I’m sure L didn’t mean that as an insult,” Light laughed, keeping his voice friendly.

Shima just huffed. Shino, on the other hand, glanced at them with surprise.

“You two are on a given-name basis?” he asked.

Um. No. They weren’t close. He didn’t want people thinking they were close. He needed to say something that would convince Shino. ‘Just slipped out’ would be an awful thing to say in this situation, despite it being true. What then? Light looked at L. The boy wasn’t Japanese, was he? He didn’t look like it. He didn’t pay any attention to him at first, so he didn’t know much about him. But he looked European. Light’s thoughts went back to English class. L was fluent, wasn’t he? But then again, he was fluent in Japanese as well. Okay, better not to make a guess on a specific country. Still, just the fact that he wasn’t Asian was enough.

“I mean, I thought L would actually prefer it since in Europe it’s common to call people by their given names,” he said.

“Oh,” Shino muttered, sounding a bit disappointed for some reason. “Well, does he call you by  your given name too?”

“I don’t,” L shook his head. “I respect Yagami-kun greatly, so I didn’t actually consider switching to the given-name basis.”

“Are you guys even friends?” Shima asked, confused.

“Well, we – “ L started saying, but Light cut him off.

“No, not really. We just talk from time to time, but we don’ have much in common,” he said.

And L… L seemed… upset? Well. It wasn’t like Light was lying or anything. He was just stating the facts.

* * *

 

Summer came and Light was free of school and spending time with his peers. On the first day of the vacation he woke up later than usual. And after opening his eyes, he laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He got up much later, not bothering to get dressed and went to make himself breakfast, ignoring the text messages that he knew had appeared on his phone since he went to sleep last evening. It was nice, pretending that other people didn’t exist. To take his time making breakfast, letting minutes pass, secretly hoping that it would make the day go by faster. Perhaps, after eating, he would read something. Or use his father’s computer to see if the police was working on any interesting case currently. Anything to entertain himself.

“Onii-chan? Did you only just wake up?” he heard Sayu’s confused voice from where the entrance to the kitchen was.

“Yeah. It’s best to get as much sleep as I can during the summer holiday,” he said.

“True,” Sayu agreed, satisfied with the answer. “Anyway, since you’re awake now, could you go to the supermarket after you’re done eating? We’re out of eggs.”

“Sure.”

After he finished his breakfast, Light grabbed his phone, keys to the house and went outside, slamming the door close. On the way to the supermarket, he unlocked his cell to see if there were any unread texts. There were two. One from Takada, asking him if he had the time to hang out sometime during the week. The second was a birthday party invitation from one of his other classmates. To the first one, he replied that they could meet up at the shopping mall on Friday, then he politely declined the birthday party invitation. Nakamura was probably going to be disappointed though. She seemed very fond of Light ever since he stood up for her when she was getting bullied at the beginning of the school year.

When he arrived at the supermarket, Light went to find eggs. Not too long after, he did. As he reached for them, he noticed something off. There was a blonde kid a few feet away. Probably a boy, around Sayu’s age. He was glaring at Light. Not in the ‘I’m-an-edgelord-and-I-hate-everyone’ way, but more in the ‘I-hate-everyone-but-I-hate- _you_ -specifically-even-more’ way. It was a bit unsettling, since Light had no idea who the kid was. And people didn’t really have any reasons to dislike him.

At first, he decided to ignore the boy. However, as he still felt the intense glare when he headed towards the vegetables section, Light turned to face the boy, a bit annoyed.

“Do we know each other?” he asked.

The boy scrunched up his nose, then shook his head.

“No. But I know who you are.”

Light raised an eyebrow.

“Do you?”

“Yeah,” the blonde nodded. “A prick.”

Okay, perhaps Light didn’t have a low self-esteem, no, it was quite the opposite. He knew he had lots of reasons to be proud of himself. More than the other people did, that was certain. However, he wasn’t fine with a complete stranger insulting him like that.

“Really? And do you mind telling me why are you so sure of that even though you don’t know me?” he asked.

The blonde was silent for a while. He seemed to be considering whether to answer the question or not. It took him a moment. Just as Light was starting to get even more irritated, he finally spoke.

“Does the name ‘L Lawliet’ ring a bell?” he asked.

L? What did that freak have to do with anything?

“Yeah. We’re classmates. Why?”

“He’s my brother.”

Oh? They didn’t look alike. But perhaps one of them was adopted. Yes, that was likely.

“And what does it have to do with me apparently being a prick?” Light asked defensively.

Lawliet probably talked shit about him. The boy probably thought he was so much better than Light, he must have told his brother about how _fake_ Light was and how dark his mind appeared to be. Perhaps L even mentioned how he was so sure that Light was capable of becoming a murderer. Or maybe –

“Because I see how curious he is about you and how much he wants to befriend you, but from what I’ve heard, you’re just being an asshole about it! Even though he wouldn’t word it like that, that kind moron,” the blonde scoffed, cutting of Light’s thoughts.

That… was unexpected.

“L… he wants to _befriend_ me?” Light choked out, surprised.

“Well, yeah. Don’t know why though,” the boy huffed.

“But… we’re rivals. Isn’t he supposed to see me as competition? Our views on the world are different, we argue a lot, we’re equal… and he wants to be _friends_?”

“Is friendship a foreign concept to you or something, douchebag?” the blonde asked.

Light scoffed.

“No. Of course not.”

With that, he turned around and went to grab some apples. He didn’t feel like continuing this conversation.

It stuck on his mind though. L Lawliet wanted to be his friend… What would that be like? …Not so bad, perhaps. As strange as L was, he was certainly… interesting. Somewhat entertaining. Smart. Maybe… maybe it was worth actually thinking about.

* * *

 

Takada was an observant girl. Therefore, she noticed rather quickly that Light was rather distracted during their hang-out, not paying as much attention to her as he probably should. She seemed a little upset by it.

“What’s on your mind, Light? It must be extremely interesting since your thoughts are so consumed by it,” she said a bit bitterly.

“Ah, sorry, it’s nothing,” he said. “Have you bought everything you wanted to?”

“Yes, but I want you to answer my question. Seriously. What are you thinking about?” Takada asked.

Light shrugged. He didn’t really feel like talking with Takada about L. It would be almost like gossiping. And that would make him feel weird.

“It’s really not important, so don’t worry about that,” he replied, then laughed lightheartedly.

“If you say so…”

Takada didn’t really seem convinced, but since she dropped it, it was alright.

* * *

 

Light wasn’t planning on talking to L until the end of the summer vacation. However, sometimes an opportunity presents itself sooner than one would expect it. That was the case this time. Sayu was having some friend over, and since he preferred quiet and peaceful places, Light decided to go to the local library to read. He didn’t have any particular book in mind, but reading whatever was better than staying at the Yagamis’ household when someone was visiting. Light was sure that it was going to cause a lot of chaos, especially since both of his parents were home and they were too hospitable towards strangers.

And for some reason, _he_ was there. Bare feet, disgustingly messy hair, a stoic expression on his face, standing on his tiptoes, reaching out trying to grab some book from the highest shelf. Light snorted because it was ridiculous. L wasn’t short. No, he was quite tall actually. And he would surely be able to grab the book if it wasn’t for that horrific slouch of his.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Light made his way through the library and stopped just behind the pale dark-haired boy. With ease, he grabbed the book L was aiming for and gave it to the slouching freak.

“Here you are,” he said.

L’s eyes widened in a slight surprise.

“Oh. Thank you, Yagami-kun,” he said. “I didn’t know I’d run into you here. I’ve been coming here every day since the summer vacation began and I haven’t seen you here once.”

“I wouldn’t come today either if Sayu didn’t invite a friend over. I don’t feel like dealing with any guests,” Light explained.

L just nodded, as if he understood. Which was strange because usually people didn’t understand. Whenever he would mention wanting to be left alone, they acted surprised. His parents, Sayu, Takada, his other acquaintances. It was always _but Light, you’re so good with people!_ or _Are you not feeling well today?_ , _But you’re so sociable!_ , _Did something happen?_. L on the other hand seemed not to see anything strange. He didn’t question how Light managed to get along with everyone in class and yet didn’t want to deal with his little sister’s friend coming over.

“Do you need a recommendation on what book to read, Yagami-kun?” L asked.

“What?”

“You don’t have any book with you and you don’t seem to be looking for any particular one.”

Oh. It was so obvious, but most people didn’t pay attention to things like that.

“Yeah. You’re correct,” he admitted.

“Well, I think I know a book that you’d enjoy, Yagami-kun,” L smiled at him.

Light blinked. It was a rare sight, L smiling. Somehow, this smile made him look better. More human. Less robotic.

Light risked smiling back.

* * *

 

They continued meeting up at the library for the rest of the summer vacation. Light would read the books L recommended to him and L would read books that Light recommended. Later, they would discuss the stories. It led to several arguments between them, one so intense that they actually got kicked out of the library for being too loud, but it was _fun_. They continued the argument outside of the building. And just like that, the holidays passed by surprisingly quickly and they were back at school and to Light’s great astonishment, he found himself looking forward to seeing L at school and talking about whatever new topic they would come up with. It was strange. Unfamiliar. But it was nice.

“ – and I mean, of course I was right, but L is so damn _stubborn_ and he’s convinced that he’s never wrong. Can you believe him? Jeez… but anyway, he made some interesting points, I suppose. It made me see the story from a bit different point of view… not that I changed my mind, I mean, obviously my interpretation is correct. Ah, it’s a really good book, you should read it too,” he found himself telling Takada during the lunch break.

“Oh. Alright, I will,” the girl said, a bit taken aback by how talkative Light was that day.

He supposed he _did_ get a bit more talkative than usual. But that was because before there wasn’t much to talk about with anyone. He didn’t have anything interesting to tell. But now, now things were getting entertaining.

“Anyway, about the movie we’re going to see today, L enjoys detective stories as well, so I thought maybe he’d like to tag along. Are you okay with that?” he asked.

“I – yeah, I guess.”

Light frowned.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s just… you’re never the first to suggest hanging out with someone, so this is a little unexpected,” Takada said.

“Oh. I suppose. Well, I still have to ask L if he _wants_ to tag along in the first place.”

L did end up going to the movies with them. The plot of the movie was good and complex and they had fun figuring out who the killer was and what was the motive. It took them an hour and twenty three minutes, but they were correct. Takada, on the other hand, didn’t seem to enjoy the hang out very much. Light supposed it was due to his and L’s constant speculations on what was going to happen in the movie, but it wasn’t his fault that she wasn’t able to figure it out herself.

He preferred L to Takada anyway.

* * *

 

“I didn’t know you donated to charity.”

“Well,” Light shrugged. “My parents give me money monthly for stuff like coffee or books that I might want to buy, but usually I don’t use all of it and there are people who need it more than I do.”

L smiled.

“That’s a very kind thing to do, Light-kun.”

“It’s an easy thing to do.”

“Still, most people our age don’t bother themselves with that.”

“Comparing isn’t the way to go when judging someone,” Light said.

“I guess not,” L agreed.

The weather was nice that day. They were walking back from school, their pace slow. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky and it was warm outside. They stopped by a local coffee shop to grab something to drink. Black coffee for Light and sickeningly sweet tea for L. Then they talked. And Light wasn’t sure why would they start talking about charity, but they did. It felt a little strange, having L appreciate something that Light did, and not in the ‘you’re as intelligent as I am’ way but in the ‘you’re a good person’ way. He never did that before. But it was nice.

“Well, L, what are _you_ doing to be a kind person?” asked Light.

The boy hesitated.

“I… try not to hurt people. But I still do. Apparently, I tend to be too blunt,” L frowned. “So I help out my foster father in the orphanage. I help the kids study. And I try to help them think about the future. I don’t know if they appreciate it that much though.”

_They do_ , Light thought, remembering meeting the angry blonde kid who claimed to be L’s brother.

“And I suppose sometimes I buy some food for the homeless when I stumble upon them. But those are all only attempts. I do not delude myself into believing that I’m a good person,” L said.

Perhaps L wasn’t a good person. But Light didn’t think he was a bad person either.

As they walked in silence, he thought about how similar they were. Strange that he didn’t think about befriending L from the beginning. Instead, it took a kid yelling at him in the supermarket to even consider the option. But he was glad he did.

“It’s your house already, Light-kun. I’ll see you tomorrow,” L said.

Light hesitated.

“L.”

“Yes, Light-kun?” asked L, tilting his head in curiosity.

“You could come over, if you want to,” he said. “To hang out.”

There was surprise in L’s eyes. Well. Light surprised himself as well. He never brought any friends home. Not even Takada. But he didn’t want to part with L just yet today. He wanted to talk to him some more, maybe watch a movie, get into another argument over something trivial… he was also pretty sure that there was some cake at home.

“Oh. I didn’t expect Light-kun to make such an offer,” said L.

Light huffed.

“It’s not a big deal, L. Do you want to come over or not?” he asked impatiently.

“I suppose I don’t have anything else to do today,” L shrugged.

Light fished the keys to the Yagamis’ house out of his pocket and went to open the door. They entered the building and the first thing L did was take off his shoes, revealing bare feet. Light sighed.

“You should start wearing socks,” he said, before calling out louder. “I’m home!”

As they moved a bit further into the house, Light could hear his mother’s footsteps coming from the kitchen. Usually, she would greet him and start asking questions about how his day was. Except today she’d be probably in a slight shock.

As expected, the door swung open and Sachiko walked out of the kitchen with a warm smile on her face.

“Welcome home, Light! How was – oh. Who’s that?”

She looked dumbfounded. Not that Light could blame her. The only person from school she ever heard of was Takada and she never even met her.

“Mom, that’s my… friend, L. L, meet my mother,” said Light.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Yagami-san,” L greeted the woman, bowing down.

Sachiko blinked a few times, still in shock.

“Oh. It’s… it’s lovely to meet you as well,” she said. “Anyway. The dinner should be ready in a few minutes so you can already go sit in the dining room.”

Dinner was a bit awkward. L seemed amazed by the fact that some people ate _actual food_ (it was yakisoba today) instead of sweets. Sachiko was upset that Light didn’t tell her beforehand that he would have a friend over. Sayu was in awe that Light actually brought a friend. Both Sachiko and Sayu were also taken aback by L’s strange behavior, mostly the way he sat on the chair.

“This is really good,” L said in wonder, after trying the yakisoba. “Light-kun, can you cook as well?”

“Yeah, Mom taught me, but the food I make is nowhere as good as hers,” Light replied.

It was, but he felt like saying so wouldn’t look good.

“It is!” Sayu protested.

“That’s admirable,” L mused. “Personally, I can only bake.”

Well. That wasn’t very surprising. Sayu seemed interested in what he was saying though.

“Woah, really? That’s cool!” she said. “Will you bake cookies for my birthday?”

L was about to answer, probably agree, but Light cut him off.

“ _Don’t_ ,” he said. “They’ll probably be way too sweet for any normal human being to digest.”

L pouted. It was true though. If the boy was going to keep eating so much candy as he did now, rather sooner than later he was going to have a heart attack.

“But Light-kun, sugar is a crucial factor of my thinking process,” L tried to make an excuse.

“Then apparently you’re not really a genius, are you? I don’t eat sweets at all and yet I’m the smarter one,” Light said in a challenging voice.

L simply stared at him, unimpressed, while Sachiko scolded Light for being mean.

After dinner, Light and L went to Light’s room, where they watched an action movie. The plot was sort of predictable and more than actually watching what was happening on screen, it was more interesting to discuss with L the possibility of one of the minor characters hiding some kind of a mental disorder. (It turned out that they were right in the end).

Light had fun.


End file.
